Basketball notebook: OSU's Smart to return for sophomore season

Marcus Smart is only the third player to be named Big 12 Player of the Year and Freshman of the Year.

Photo: Thearon W. Henderson / Getty Images

Bucking the one-and-done trend across college basketball, Big 12 Player of the Year Marcus Smart announced Wednesday he will return for his sophomore season at Oklahoma State with a team that will be loaded with professional prospects.

Proclaiming he's a “Cowboy at heart” during a news conference in Stillwater, Okla., Smart said he made his decision after consulting with his family and praying on it, and knowing fully what he could be passing up by skipping this chance to enter the NBA draft as a likely top-five pick.

“There's a lot of speculation going. I've been bashed and criticized that I probably made a mistake of coming back here, the NBA will be there, I should have took it, and this year's draft class is much weaker than next year's,” said Smart, who led the Cowboys with 15.4 points and 4.2 assists per game last season.

With Smart leading the way at the point, Oklahoma State made it back to the NCAA tournament after a three-year absence and finished the season with a 24-9 record. He joined Kevin Durant and Michael Beasley, both former No. 2 NBA draft picks, as the only players to sweep the Big 12's player of the year and freshman of the year honors.

Hardaway to leave Michigan: Michigan guard Tim Hardaway Jr. announced he's leaving early for the NBA draft. The 6-foot-6 junior, the son of former NBA player Tim Hardaway, averaged 14.5 points per game this past season and started all 107 games he played during his career as he helped lead Michigan to the national title game.

Elsewhere: Junior college standout point guard Kenny Chery signed a national letter of intent with NIT champion Baylor. Chery, a 6-foot guard from Canada who played the past two seasons at State Fair Community College in Missouri, averaged 16.4 points, 4.7 rebounds and 3.7 assists in 26 games last season and made 45 percent of his 3-pointers. ... Florida Gulf Coast hired Kansas assistant Joe Dooley as its coach.